


Exile

by 10Blue10



Series: Ex [3]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Body Horror, Consensual interspecies sex, Hurt/Comfort, Intercrural Sex, M/M, Nightmares, threat of castration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-25 15:22:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17727752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/10Blue10/pseuds/10Blue10
Summary: So much for 'just one time'. Hiccup is still torn between his affections for Astrid and his newfound attraction to Toothless, but why should he have to give up something that makes him feel good? They are told that a dragon and a human cannot be mates, but the heart bound pair defy conventions once more and continue to make love in secret, fearing what could become of their discovery. Yet when their trysts are discovered, and it seems those they trust have turned against them, Hiccup and Toothless flee Berk in a self-imposed exile.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sarahenany](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahenany/gifts), [Thursday26](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thursday26/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Boy Who Loved a Dragon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17069219) by [Thursday26](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thursday26/pseuds/Thursday26). 



> Hiccup’s nightmare is based on ‘The Boy Who Loved A Dragon’ by Thursday26. His later rant is based on my reaction to said fic. 
> 
> …On a completely unrelated note it’s my birthday on Tuesday.

It was supposed to be just one time. Just to see what it was like. It was…incredible. Overwhelming. The next morning, after they’d cleaned up (fortunately they’d slept in and his father was out of the house), he and Toothless seemed to come to an unspoken agreement not to mention it.

So why did he still want it? Why did he want more? It wasn’t right to want this; never mind if it had felt so good. So what if he had felt so special and loved? Well, he may have just answered his own question…but still. They didn’t need to _make_ love to know they were loved by the other. He should be content like this. 

Hiccup had a girlfriend, and Toothless might one day find a mate (Selena, hopefully) amongst the Night Furies they had befriended in Myrkr. Everything was as it should be. Astrid was happy, he was happy, Toothless was happy. If he kept making love to Toothless behind Astrid’s back, he’d be betraying her. 

He didn’t want to do that. He loved her. She had been on his side, learning and fighting alongside him, almost since the beginning. If it weren’t for her tough love, he’d have moped instead of doing something about his problems. They’d been through so much together and he didn’t want to throw all of that away.

Hiccup knew he should talk about how he felt, to Toothless at least. He could tell his other half anything. They were kept pretty busy for a while, helping his dad prepare for devastating winter (as opposed to regular winter). Astrid spent time with him; Hiccup tried to ignore the guilt he felt whenever they kissed. 

There was a bad snowstorm howling outside when Hiccup finally decided to broach the uncomfortable subject. “That’s some storm, huh, bud?” he began. Toothless’ ear-flap twitched. *It is rather loud* he agreed, baring his teeth in irritation at the wind rushing and howling around the house. 

“…So, uh, I’ve been thinking. You know that time we kind of, um, _experimented_?” Hiccup asked awkwardly, “I liked it. A lot. But I love Astrid, and it’s getting kind of hard to, uh, reconcile that with, um….us” he explained. 

Toothless cocked his head to the side. It was adorable, and _why are my thoughts so dirty?_ *Reconcile?* the dragon repeated with a questioning sort of croak. 

“I mean…I love her, and I love you, and it was okay because it was two different kinds of love…but then we, y’know”, Hiccup blushed, “and it felt _really_ good, and I kind of want more, I think? But I’m betraying Astrid. I just feel caught between a rock and a hard place – figure of speech” he added, seeing Toothless look confused again. “I don’t know who to choose. I can’t have you both.” 

*Why not?* Toothless asked, as if it were simple. *I don’t mind sharing you with Astrid. You’re human, it makes sense that you’d want a human mate.* 

“I know _you_ wouldn’t mind. I’m worried that _she_ would mind. A lot, actually.” 

Toothless knew that Astrid and Hiccup had been courting for a long time now. It would be quite distressing for her if she were to discover that her desired had already mated, he realised. *I’m sorry* Toothless warbled apologetically. *I shouldn’t have tried to explore you in the first place. It’s my fault you feel torn.* 

“No. Don’t blame yourself, bud; I chose to do all that. I just didn’t think you’d be so irresistible. I mean having a tongue like that is one thing, and having a throbbing cock is another, but both? That’s just not fair” Hiccup smirked. Then he sighed, and admitted, “I love you, but Astrid…she means a lot to me.” 

*I know* said Toothless, understanding as ever, *and if she’s important to you, she’s important to me too. You remember when you told me that you wanted to marry her one day, and what that meant?* he asked. Hiccup nodded. *I’ll still be your other half whatever you choose. If you want to be with her, that’s fine.* 

Not for the first time, Hiccup wondered what exactly he’d done to deserve such a wonderful person in his life. “You’re amazing. I…I don’t know what I want anymore. I don’t want to hurt Astrid, I know that much. But being with you…I don’t want to give that up either. I know, I’m being selfish” he sighed. 

*I don’t think you’re being selfish. You’re not going to lose me whatever happens; it’s your choice, but if you want to know what I think, I think you ought to be with Astrid. If only because she’s the same species, and I believe I remember something about how you ‘prefer blondes’* Toothless said pointedly. 

Hiccup glared half-heartedly at him. The young man thought hard; how could he resolve this dilemma? Knowing that Toothless would support any decision he made was a weight off his mind. In the end, Hiccup felt he had three options. 

One, break up with Toothless (sort of) and focus on his relationship with Astrid, but probably be left with lingering desires for his other half, all unfulfilled. 

Two, keep being intimate with Toothless behind Astrid’s back and have to deal with the guilt of lying to his girlfriend about cheating on her with his dragon.

Neither of these was particularly appealing, which left option three; tell Astrid about him and Toothless, and leave it up to her whether they stayed together. Hiccup felt he could trust her to keep their secret; after all, she’d kept the first one. If he was lucky, she’d just ask him to keep their relationships separate.

He took a deep breath and said, “I want to tell her…about us. She doesn’t deserve to be kept in the dark. If she’s okay with it, then great, and if she breaks up with me…I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it” he decided. Of course he rather hoped she wouldn’t break up with him; surely he could persuade her.

*Should we tell her tomorrow?*

“Yeah…out on the sea stacks. It’s more private. I’ll tell Astrid, and you…uh…”

*I’ll tell Stormfly. Now, you should go to sleep. It’s been a long day…what?* Toothless asked, seeing Hiccup bite his lip. The young man looked over at the door, and noticed it was unlocked. He almost got out of bed, but then thought better of it. “Toothless…can you do me a favour, and lock the door?”

The dragon blinked. *Don’t I need fingers to do that?*

“No, no, it’s easy. You just have to pull that latch across” Hiccup explained, pointing, “it’s easy. C’mon, just try it. Please? Humour me.”

Toothless rolled his eyes. *Alright. If you really want me to…* He rose from his warm slab and padded over to the door. The innocuous little piece of metal glinted in the flickering light of the lamp Hiccup was burning on his bedside table. He tried to nudge it with his snout, but it didn’t budge. His nose slid off. 

So he tried to grab the sticky-out bit in his teeth instead, but he couldn’t get a good grip. Frustrated, Toothless pawed at the latch, and managed to push it over the door entirely by accident. *There, I’ve done it. Are you happy…now?* He turned around and stared, realising this had all just been a distraction.

Hiccup was sitting naked on his bed, smiling innocently. “Attaboy. I knew you could do it” he praised. Toothless raised an eyebrow. Hiccup looked down at himself and ‘exclaimed’, “Oh no. All my clothes are gone. I sure hope there aren’t any big, strong dragons around who might try to ravish me…”

Toothless stared at him. *I was right. Mating really does make humans go crazy. I thought you felt bad about mating with me behind Astrid’s back?* 

In fairness, Hiccup had the decency to look sheepish. He rubbed the back of his neck and admitted, “I do, but…that doesn’t mean I don’t want to. Y’know. Besides, I thought maybe you’d want some more of all _this_ ” he said, gesturing to – well, all of himself. He gave Toothless what he hoped was a sexy sort of smirk. 

The dragon did not look impressed. *Astrid is going to be upset enough when she finds out we’ve mated once, let alone twice. Let’s not make things worse* Toothless advised, going back to his slab and re-heating the cooled stone to a more comfortably hot temperature. He could sense Hiccup’s disappointment, and did his best to ignore it. *I’m sorry, Hiccup. This is for your own good.* 

Hiccup sighed. Toothless was right, even if he didn’t want to admit it. He blew out the lamp and wriggled down amongst the furs. He definitely wasn’t sulking.

* * *

The next day, Hiccup invited Astrid out for a flight. They spent a while having little races and showing off in front of each other, before he and Toothless led the way out to the sea stacks. When they landed, Toothless tempted Stormfly into a game of tag across the stones. Hiccup sat down on a bluff overlooking the ocean, after checking nobody else was around. Astrid sat down beside him.

 _Here goes nothing._ “It’s a…great view, isn’t it?” he asked randomly. _Smooth._

Astrid smiled coyly. “Yeah, it is…” He glanced over and discovered that her gaze wasn’t on the horizon, but on him. Hiccup blushed. Taking this as a good sign – he was so cute when he got all shy like this - she leaned in to kiss him…but rather than return the kiss, Hiccup leaned away from her and started rambling. 

“Uh – y’know, I’ve been thinking. I mean, I’m always thinking, you know this never turns off”, he tapped his temple, “but have you ever thought about how a lot of the things we take for granted are kind of _unnatural_ , but they’re still good?” Hiccup asked the now thoroughly confused Astrid. 

“Not…really. What kind of things?” 

“Like, uh, houses. And wheels. And stuff…” 

“Hiccup, what’s going on? You’re acting weird.”

“Don’t you mean weirder?” 

*YOU WHAT?!* 

The sudden shriek made them jump. They both looked over at the dragons, only to see that Toothless had tackled Stormfly. “Play nice, bud!” Hiccup called. He was jealous of the dragon’s ability to take the direct approach. _Come on, Hiccup. Pull it together._ “I guess they’re really getting into their game, heh, heh…” 

“Yeah…so, you were saying?” Astrid asked pointedly. 

Hiccup gulped. “Yes. I was, uh…there’s something I have to tell you. But it’s a secret!” he exclaimed hastily, “y-you can’t tell anyone. Astrid, please swear to me that you won’t tell anyone about this. It’s _really_ important you don’t.” 

Taken aback by his anxiousness, Astrid replied “Um, sure. I swear I won’t tell.” 

Relieved, Hiccup took a deep breath and tried to get his act together. “I just want you to know, I _really_ care about you. This thing…it’s not you, it’s me.” 

Astrid raised an eyebrow. “You’re starting to sound like you’re breaking up with me…you’re not, are you?” she questioned, eyes narrowing. 

“No! No, I, I’m not breaking up with you. It’s just…you might be breaking up with me” he explained, cringing slightly. 

Her brows furrowed. “What? Why would I do that? Hiccup, just tell me what’s wrong!” Astrid prompted impatiently. 

_It’s now or never._ “ToothlessandImadelove” he said in a rush, cringing more. 

“You…what? Sorry, I didn’t catch that. Something about Toothless?” 

_Damn it._ “Toothless and I made love” Hiccup repeated, slower, eyes shut. After a few seconds he peeked, and saw Astrid staring at him in disbelief. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to cheat on you, I swear, it just happened and I felt bad so I thought if I told you then I wouldn’t be lying or going behind your back and”- 

Astrid pressed a finger over his lips to stop his panicked rambling. “You and Toothless…made love” she repeated. “And by ‘made love’, you mean…Hiccup, are you trying to tell me that you’ve had sex with a _dragon_?” 

Eyes wide, Hiccup nodded. Astrid pulled her hand away, and shifted back, staring at him and seriously disturbed. Before she could stop herself, Astrid looked over at Toothless. The Night Fury caught her eyes and froze, before lowering his head submissively, looking apologetic. Stormfly looked uncomfortable, and she realised that her dragon had just found out too. 

Mind reeling, Astrid looked back out to sea, ignoring Hiccup. She could hardly wrap her head around this. “So that’s it” she said at last, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice. “All that talk about how you love us in different ways…that’s all it was. Just talk. It’s the heart bind, isn’t it? That made you fall in love with him.” 

“No” Hiccup said firmly, shaking his head. “I fell in love with Toothless” he admitted, “but I’m still in love with _you_. That’s why I told you, Astrid; so even if you were angry, and I don’t blame you for being angry; but at least I wouldn’t be going behind your back. There’s room in here for both of you” he said, pressing a hand to his heart. “Astrid, please, give it a chance. We can make this work.” 

Astrid stared at him as if she was seeing him for the first time. “What, am I supposed to just ignore that my boyfriend is sleeping around with…gods, Hiccup, what is _wrong_ with you? It’d be bad enough if you’d cheated on me with another girl, but instead you go and do it with _Toothless_? Or did he…” She trailed off and looked at the Night Fury, who was crouching and humble. 

Hiccup frowned. “He didn’t _make_ me have sex with him, if that’s what you’re wondering. I haven’t been ‘sleeping around’ either; we’ve only made love once. And he stopped us from doing it again last night, so you wouldn’t be even angrier” he explained…only to wince when he realised he’d just admitted to wanting to bang Toothless a second time, right before confessing it to her. 

She looked so disappointed. “You’re insane. Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?” she demanded, wondering if he’d even considered it. 

“Toothless would never hurt me” he insisted straightaway, “and I’m not _that_ much of a weakling, I can take a” – 

“Stop! Just stop, I don’t want to hear it” Astrid grimaced. She blew her hair out of her face and explained, “besides, that’s not what I meant. If anyone else finds out about you two, doing _that_ , you could get in huge trouble.” 

Hiccup sighed. “Yeah, I know, I know, we could get outlawed. Could be worse.” 

“Yeah, a lot worse. They’ll see it as an abomination, a…a crime against the gods, against nature. Things could get ugly. Hiccup, I’m begging you, for your own safety – don’t have sex with Toothless again. It’s a really bad idea. Let’s just pretend it never happened and everything will go back to normal, okay?” 

He could agree to not have sex with Toothless again…but he didn’t want to. Call him selfish, call him insane, but he didn’t want to give this new, strange, wonderful thing up. He couldn’t bring himself to lie and lead a double life, as Astrid’s lover and Toothless’ mate. It would only end in tears, and axes. 

So Hiccup looked her in the eye, and sadly murmured, “I’m sorry, Astrid. I never meant to hurt you…but I love Toothless, and he makes me feel good, and he makes me feel good about myself. I am trusting you not to tell anyone…but I betrayed your trust, and I’m sorry. I understand if…if you want to break up.” 

Astrid was silent for a long moment. Finally she got to her feet and walked towards Stormfly, swinging herself into the saddle. “I…I need time to think.” She urged her dragon into the air, and the two of them winged towards Berk. Hiccup watched her fly off, and slumped back in the grass with a heavy sigh. Toothless padded over and nosed at him. “I hope you had better luck than I did, bud.” 

Toothless lay down near his head. *Stormfly thinks we’re crazy too. Hiccup…maybe they’re right. Maybe we should stop. If it puts you in danger…* 

“Hey, don’t worry. It’ll be okay” Hiccup reassured him, reaching out to caress his cheek. “She won’t tell. Nobody else needs to know. It’ll be our little secret.”

Yet Astrid’s words stuck in the back of his mind the rest of the day. When Hiccup overheard some comments from Spitelout (of course) about rassraugrs and how they deserved to be put to death…he tried to brush it off as more of the man’s arrogant, spiteful hot air, but it made him uncomfortable nonetheless. Still, if they _did_ find out, they wouldn’t put him and Toothless to death…would they?

* * *

Hiccup woke up screaming. He clutched at his chest with one hand just to see if his heart was still beating, and reached out blindly with the other towards Toothless, who rushed over at once, crooning and nuzzling and licking. *I’m here, I’m here, love, it’s okay* he purred reassuringly to soothe his other half.

 _He’s alive!_ Hiccup was gasping, trembling like a leaf. Tears streamed down his face as he buried it in warm black scales and clung to Toothless’ neck tighter than tight. Until he remembered _Toothless suffocating as the air was squeezed from his lungs – his lungs dragged out past his ribs – his ribs hacked from his spine, jutting out like bloody spars – his skin peeled away – carved with a knife._

That horrific image, of his beloved one in a mangled, tortured heap of flesh and bone, sightless eyes forever staring at nothingness, made Hiccup’s stomach roil. He tore his death grip from the thoroughly worried Toothless and scrambled up to the skylight, sticking his head out and vomiting down the side of the house. He retched until there was nothing left and collapsed back onto the bed. 

Toothless nudged him tentatively; Hiccup grabbed as much of the dragon as he could reach and heaved with all his might, trying to drag his other half closer. He wriggled under Toothless’ jaw and plastered himself against the dragons chest, pressing his ear to a heart he needed to hear beating. His own heart fluttered like a trapped, panicked bird in his chest, and he struggled to draw breath. 

*Hiccup? Easy now. Breathe. Come on, you can do it* Toothless encouraged. He suspected his other half had just had a nightmare about him dying, judging by the way Hiccup was trying to burrow into his chest. Soft human hands splayed over his shoulders and back, rubbing hard as if to check _for sure_ that no wound was there. *I’m here, it’s okay, I’m alive, I’m here* he crooned over and over. 

Hiccup’s screams had not gone unnoticed; Toothless’ ear-flaps twitched at the sound of heavy footsteps trudging up the stairs. Stoick had heard. “Hiccup?!” he shouted, voice booming through the wooden door. “What’s going on?!” The handle jolted, and the frame shook as Hiccup’s sire tried to force his way in. 

At the sound of his dad’s voice, Hiccup froze, terrified. Stoick was the one who _sentenced Toothless to death._ When he heard the door rattling as Stoick tried to get in, he thanked the moon he’d remembered to lock it and yelled, “Go away!” 

The rattling stopped, but the shouting didn’t. “What?! Hiccup, I’m trying to help!” Stoick protested. Hiccup was deaf to it. All he could see and hear in his mind was the chief looking down at him and Toothless, furious, and condemning his dearest one to be sacrificed to appease the gods. To cleanse Berk. To cure him of a curse invented by the villager’s prejudice and paranoia. 

“I don’t _want_ your help! Leave me alone!” Hiccup screamed. He burst into fresh sobs, clinging to Toothless as if he feared his other half would vanish should he ever let go. The dragon bared his fangs at the door where Stoick was _still_ trying to barge in. Hiccup was scared and hurting and his sire was _not helping._ So Toothless took a deep breath and roared at the door to make Stoick leave. 

There was a beat of silence, and then a gruff, defeated sigh. “Overprotective reptile” he heard Stoick grumble, and then the sound of boots creaking down the stairs. He listened carefully, ear-flaps pricked, until he was sure that Stoick had retreated back to his own room. Then he relaxed and nuzzled Hiccup. *It’s okay, love. He’s gone now* Toothless crooned, licking his mate to mark him. 

It must have been a terrible nightmare. Hiccup cried his eyes out, pressing himself against Toothless and shaking all over. His emotions were a tumultuous mess of _shock horror anger betrayal sadness love_ and his scent was _misery fear love_ rolling off him in waves. Toothless gathered his precious little mate up in his forelegs and held him close, grooming him, purring to comfort them both. 

At last, Hiccup’s tears ran dry. He slumped weak in Toothless’ hold, sniffling and whimpering. “Y-you’re alive” he whispered, voice hoarse. His eyes were red. 

*Yes, love, I’m alive* Toothless promised, gently lapping the tears from his other half’s cheek. *Did you dream I’d died?* he asked, voice soft and gentle.

Hiccup moaned, a sob without tears. “They k-killed you” he gasped out.  

*Dragon hunters?* Toothless guessed. Who else would Hiccup fear killing him? 

It shocked him to the core when Hiccup whispered, “The villagers – Spitelout.” 

Toothless stiffened; a tremor ran down his spine. Hiccup’s nightmare…had been of the villagers, of Snotlout’s sire, killing him? It didn’t make sense – though dreams rarely did – for what could make them want him dead? 

Hiccup must have sensed his nervous confusion, because the young man moaned again and pressed even closer. “They found out…about us…” he whispered, “and they…” He scrambled to check Toothless’ back, needing to see for himself that it was whole and no dagger had been sawn through his beautiful skin. Hiccup kissed the back of Toothless’ neck and his shoulders.

He had no wish to revisit the horror, but he should talk about it now when it was still fresh in his mind, before he lost the nerve. So haltingly, as he stroked Toothless’ mercifully undamaged scales, Hiccup told his other half about his nightmare. How they were discovered, and everyone thought the gods would be angered; how Stoick had callously ordered Toothless to be sacrificed. 

Sickened, he described how Spitelout had performed the Blood Eagle, the most barbaric execution method known to Vikings, on Toothless. How he was held back and forced to watch as his beloved other half was subjected to slow torture. How Toothless had been in such pain, so afraid, and taken so long to die…and how nobody had tried to help, or even protested, not even Gobber. 

“They just watched…like he was just skinning a sheep…like they couldn’t hear us screaming” Hiccup whispered, trembling. Toothless was shaking too. His throat bubbled with whines of fear and sorrow, as distressed by the nightmare as his other half. Dragons were no strangers to brutality; he had seen dragons be torn to pieces by their fellow pack-mates, but that was in a frenzy, unplanned. 

To think that the humans he had befriended over these five years; Hiccup’s own sire, and the sire of one of their friends; would turn on him, and execute him so cruelly – was terrifying. The worst part was that Toothless remembered the villagers hunting them, taking him away from Hiccup, trying to send him out to sea. What if they had tried to kill him? Right then and there, in front of… 

He shuddered and whined, hiding his face against Hiccup as his other half did the same. Breathing in that familiar, beloved scent, Toothless struggled to banish the terrible thoughts from his mind. In a way he was glad Hiccup told him about this awful dream, although he wished his dearest one had not had to endure such a tragedy. He wouldn’t lie down and let them die if it came to that. 

“Toothless?” he heard Hiccup whisper, “can you close the shutters, please?” 

A simple request, and Toothless was more than happy to oblige. Once the shutters were closed, the room was blanketed in even more darkness. His sharp eyes and ears could make out Hiccup fumbling to light a lamp, and he held fire in his jaws so the human could see. “Thanks, bud” Hiccup smiled, making his own light to shine in the darkness. Toothless swallowed his fires again. 

Hiccup reached out to hold his mate’s head in his hands. He drank in the sight of Toothless’ blessedly whole body, rising and falling chest, gazed into those ever loving eyes. Hiccup adored his other half, utterly, unashamedly, and he needed this. It was the only way he’d ever get to sleep again tonight. “You’re perfect” he whispered, and pressed his lips to Toothless’, kissing them with relish.

After a few moments, Toothless began to kiss him back. Hiccup parted his lips to draw his lover’s tongue into his mouth, sliding his own tongue over soft gums. His hands caressed Toothless’ head, fondling his ear-flaps and fleshy spines, trailing across the underside of his jawline. He pulled back to breathe, face flushed and eyes dark, gazing at Toothless with his desire plain to see. 

*Now?* Toothless asked, a little surprised. He wouldn’t have thought Hiccup would be ‘in the mood’ as humans said. *Are you sure?* 

Hiccup nodded earnestly, stroking his head. “I need this” he begged, “please. I need _you_. I need all of you.” As he spoke, Hiccup ran his hands down the column of Toothless’ neck to his shoulders, and dug his fingers firmly into the rutting spots on either side. In spite of himself, Toothless moaned, the first stirrings of arousal rising in him. Well, if his other half needed him, then he was here. 

Hiccup shucked off his nightshirt and went straight back to rubbing himself against Toothless, revelling in the sensation of bare skin against smooth scales. He sank blunt teeth into the nearest rutting spot and tongued it, scratching his fingernails against the sensitive underside of Toothless’ wing, where membrane met torso. Toothless growled. And he said dragons were difficult to arouse. 

Still, the dragon wasn’t being idle. Toothless nuzzled Hiccup, licking his neck and down his back. His pronged tongue could feel the contours of each bone. It worried him a little that Hiccup’s spine was so easy to touch, just beneath a thin layer of flesh and skin. _That’s normal for humans_ Hiccup insisted, but right now it put Toothless’ mind at ease to lick them each in turn, reassuring himself. 

Pretty soon his wandering tongue was interrupted by the fabric of Hiccup’s pants. Without a second thought he lifted a paw and dragged them down, licking over and between the fleshy globes. The human made a strange noise, half moan and half squeak. He wriggled and yanked the pants off all the way, rolling over to offer himself to Toothless properly. “Do your thing, bud.” 

Purring in gratification, the dragon eagerly buried his snout between his mate’s thighs and lapped at his member. Hiccup’s cock went hard as the rest of him melted. He kept kissing and licking and massaging Toothless’ shoulders, heart singing _he’s alive._ The scales felt drier than normal, so he slipped his hands into Toothless’ mouth and rubbed the saliva over the scales, feeling them soften. 

They were healing each other. Hiccup could not think of Toothless suffering, not with his mate nursing and purring around his member, turning off the rest of his brain. Toothless could not think of Hiccup suffering, not with his mate’s hands and mouth all over him, and those breathy little moans slipping into his ears and under his skin, making him want to surround Hiccup, making him unsheathe. 

Toothless decided their current positions weren’t suitable for proper love-making. Hiccup laughed as his mate closed gummy jaws around his stump and dragged him down to the far end of the bed. Toothless moved into position and reared to place his forepaws on either side of Hiccup’s thin torso, leaning forwards to slide his thicker shaft over and against his mate’s. It wouldn’t reach. 

Realising what his lover was trying to do, Hiccup grinned at Toothless and hooked his knees over Toothless’ base-fins, lifting his hips up so their cocks touched. Toothless crooned his approval and began to thrust, using the bed as a way to balance. Pretty soon the pulsing started and Hiccup gasped out Toothless’ name, dragging his fingernails down the dragon’s broad chest. 

Grunting in pleasure, Toothless lowered his body for a better angle and to lap at Hiccup’s chest. It was fascinating, the reactions he could get just by swiping his tongue over those odd little pink nipples. Hiccup squirmed and moaned, but the mischievous human took advantage of Toothless’ proximity to scratch and squeeze his rutting spots, nimble hands dancing over his neck and shoulders. 

Hiccup had never expected they could, or would, do this, but he loved it. There was something about Toothless looming over him, wings spread for balance, claws near his bare flesh and jaws at his neck – yet those claws never touched him, and the fangs in that mouth were hidden away. Being so completely at the mercy of this powerful, yet gentle creature was strangely arousing for him. 

Likewise, the complete trust Hiccup placed in him turned Toothless on and made him never want to abuse that trust. He could hardly believe Astrid had thought he’d try to _rape_ Hiccup; amongst dragons, that was cowardly and hated. He would make love to Hiccup if his other half wanted it, but he was sure that if _he_ did not want to make love then his other half would understand. 

With all the thrusting and pulsing and licking and scratching, it wasn’t long before they’d pushed each other to the precipice, and they were on the verge of going over the edge. When they did, it was like when they fell together – that heady rush, hearts pounding, breaths coming faster, muscles shaking. Hiccup arched and Toothless threw his head back, mouth gaping in a silent roar. 

He caught himself before he could collapse onto and flatten Hiccup, drawing back and heaving himself off of his mate. Panting, Hiccup looked over at him and smiled. “Thanks, bud” he whispered, “you’re the best.” A glint of worry came into his eyes as he wondered, “Could…could you stay here? Until I fall asleep?” That dreadful nightmare still unnerved him, it seemed. 

*Why don’t you sleep between my wings?* Toothless suggested. Hiccup was more than agreeable; so the dragon reclined with wings open, and he spread a blanket over one wing to make himself more comfortable before lying down and letting himself be enveloped. In the safe warm darkness, with the reassuring beat of his lover’s heart close by, Hiccup finally felt content. 

* * *

After that…well, they weren’t quite sure. Astrid was civil to them; she didn’t bring the matter of Hiccup’s infidelity up, instead she appeared to have decided to pretend it wasn’t happening. Hiccup found he didn’t mind that so much. Of course he was probably going to have to face the issue eventually, but for now they could remain in a sort of limbo, still technically ‘together’, as a couple.

It didn’t go unnoticed by the others that the two of them weren’t as close as usual. Snotlout tried to put the moves on Astrid – and she _reciprocated._ Of course, given that her flirting was so over-the-top it was obviously meant to put him off, and jab at Hiccup as well. See how _he_ liked being cheated on…but Astrid couldn’t bring herself to cheat on him for real, especially not with a Jorgenson. 

The dragons knew about them mating. Stormfly hadn’t told, but their scents were a pretty big giveaway. Hiccup was glad that humans didn’t have as great a sense of smell, or they’d be in trouble. The dragons thought they were crazy; not because of any prejudice against humans, but out of worry for Hiccup’s well-being, that Toothless was mating with someone so small and fragile. 

Toothless-Hiccup’s winged friends suggested that maybe they should ‘quit whilst they’re ahead’, as humans would say. Humans and dragons just weren’t meant to be mates. Allies, sure, close friends, even family, but not lovers. Neither of them listened. Hiccup managed to persuade Stormfly, Meatlug and the others that they would be careful, and that he could handle the relationship. 

There was a small cave in the wall of the cove; it wasn’t big enough for them, but Hiccup discovered a hole in the back of it that, once widened with a few blasts, led out into a larger, unclaimed cavern. It was big enough, and there was another twisting tunnel, courtesy of the Whispering Deaths, that led back up to the surface. They closed up the exit to the cove and made the cave their own. 

All this wasn’t to say the two of them were rutting at every chance they got. Just every other chance. It was strangely addictive. Hiccup still felt the occasional twinge of guilt about Astrid… “I wish she’d just tell me if she’s breaking up with me. Stop the suspense, you know?” he remarked to Toothless even as he stripped off. “I mean she can’t avoid the topic forever, right?” 

*Let’s not worry for now* Toothless suggested, *she’ll confront us about it when she’s ready. And maybe she won’t break up with you after all.* 

“That’d be a miracle” Hiccup sighed. He was beginning to think telling Astrid wasn’t as good an idea as he’d thought. She obviously hadn’t told anyone, and he was grateful for that…but it wouldn’t have been that hard to lead a double life, right? Toothless felt his agitation grow and nuzzled him, then purred against his bared ribs. Hiccup squirmed and giggled. “C’mon, bud, stop! That tickles!” 

Both distracted by the other as they were, neither knew that Hookfang had landed in the cove to get a drink and Snotlout, hearing odd noises coming from the cave, had gone to investigate. There was a small gap in the rocks collapsed over the opening. He put his eye to it and had to stifle a gasp, catching a glimpse of Hiccup, _naked and snogging Toothless._ At least, that was what it looked like.

Seriously weirded out, Snotlout retreated quietly from the cave and ran over to Hookfang. His dad once warned him about this sort of thing, _rassraugrs,_ and told Snotlout to let him know if he came across anything of the sort.

He remembered seeing Hiccup and Toothless coming out of a different cave and wondered if that was the way into the one they were hiding in. He flew off to warn his father with that bit of information in mind. Snotlout trusted his dad. It never occurred to him what Spitelout might do to them when he found out.

* * *

“You up for another round?” Hiccup grinned up at Toothless, as they were recovering from a pretty intense orgasm. Toothless had let Hiccup penetrate him for the first time. It felt good; not as good as the dragon’s cock pulsing inside him, but they’d had fun. Then his draconic lover had driven him crazy with that tongue, filled him, throbbed in him and made him see stars.

Toothless rolled his eyes. Insatiable human. *Maybe later* he replied, reaching to clean off the mess they were covered in. He tried to keep most of his saliva inside his mouth, knowing that Hiccup preferred not to be covered in dragon spit. What was moisturising and soothing for one of them was overly sticky and saturating for the other, so they tried to compromise when they made love. 

Once he was done licking his mate clean, Toothless snagged a towel with his tail for Hiccup to dry off with. “Thanks, bud” the young man smiled gratefully. He dried himself and tossed the towel aside, yawning. “What d’you say we have a nap?” he suggested, already cradled securely in one of Toothless’ wings. 

The thought was tempting. *Maybe we should go back before someone comes looking for us* Toothless pointed out. Hiccup remembered how overprotective his father had been lately; if it seemed like he and Toothless had gone missing, Stoick would probably turn over the whole archipelago looking for them. He sighed heavily, wishing time would stop for a while. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” 

After they’d regained the strength to get up and dressed/saddled, Hiccup and Toothless flew through the tunnel that led back to the outside world. When they emerged, neither of them expected to be attacked – to have bolas’ come out of nowhere to entangle Toothless’ wings and limbs. The dragon shrieked, and Hiccup yelled as well, thrown out of the saddle and tumbling. “What the-?!” 

Someone grabbed him and hauled him upright, but kept him away from Toothless. Several more large Vikings lunged at the flailing dragon, pinning his lashing tail down and his jaws shut. Hiccup could hardly believe what he was seeing. He _knew_ these men – Starkard, Dogsbreath, Hoark, Ack, Sven was holding him back and – _no, no, no_ – Spitelout was there, holding a knife. 

“NO!” Hiccup screamed, his worst nightmare coming true before his eyes. He struggled with all his might, hating that he was so _weak_ , shouting “Don’t hurt him! Please don’t hurt him!” He was terrified, and Toothless was terrified, trying in vain to throw the humans off of him. They were too strong, and he couldn’t get any leverage with his legs trapped underneath him like they were. 

“It’s alright, Hiccup” he heard Sven say, and kicked out, his metal prosthetic slamming into the bone of the shepherd’s leg. Sven cried out in pain but Hiccup didn’t care, how _dare_ he say this was alright, it was anything but! 

“Let me go! Get off him, you can’t _do_ this! We haven’t done anything wrong!” 

Spitelout exclaimed “Haven’t done anything?! You’ve tainted Berk in the eyes of the gods, that’s what you’ve done. Committed an abomination, _bestiality_ – I never thought you’d stoop so low.” He had the gall to look disappointed. “But I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. The dragon has obviously bewitched you, cursed you – for the good of us all, we must end this travesty here and now.” 

Hiccup watched in horror as Spitelout ordered the other four Vikings to heave Toothless onto his side, exposing his vulnerable belly and throat. Spitelout advanced, dagger in hand, and all Hiccup could imagine was him carving open Toothless’ chest, snapping his ribs off and cutting out his lungs, his heart – “STOOOOP! You can’t kill him, we’re heart bound! If Toothless dies, I’ll die!” 

Incredibly, that made the man pause, and everyone stared at him. Desperate, Hiccup strained against Sven’s grasp and protested, “You don’t have to do this. Just because it’s unnatural doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Just because you don’t understand doesn’t mean it’s wrong! After everything we’ve done for this tribe, all the times we’ve risked our lives to save it, the least you could do is let us be!” 

He panted, hoarse, tears pricking his eyes at the thought they were about to die at the hands of people he’d thought he could trust. Spitelout and the others looked completely unmoved. _How did they even find out?! Did Astrid…she wouldn’t!_ “Or just let us go. _Please_ ” he begged, “we’ll fly away and take our ‘taint’ with us. Just don’t sacrifice Toothless, I’ll do anything, I swear!” 

Spitelout gave him an incredulous stare, but before the older man could say anything, two dragons landed in the clearing. “What in Thor’s name is going on?!” Stoick demanded as he dismounted and strode towards them.  

“They want to kill Toothless!” Hiccup shouted desperately, voice cracking. 

“You don’t understand, Stoick. My son came and warned me that _yours_ was down in that tunnel engaging in bestial acts with the dragon” said Spitelout. 

Hiccup looked over at his fellow rider in horror. “Snotlout…you betrayed me?” he asked, unable to keep the hurt out of his voice, “You spied on us?” 

Snotlout at least had the decency to look ashamed. “I had to! I didn’t know my dad would go this far, I went to get your dad so” – 

“Quiet!” Stoick said firmly. He looked at his son and demanded, “Hiccup, is that true? Have you been… _cavorting_ with Toothless behind my back?” 

He sounded angry and disappointed; Hiccup felt an irrational twinge of guilt. “I _love_ him. I should have told you” he confessed, “but I was scared! Of _this_! I’m not asking you to understand or approve, but please don’t let them kill us!” 

Stoick was torn. Hiccup looked so terrified, the father in him wanted to charge in and protect his son; but as Chief, he had to maintain an image of strength, lest _certain people_ try to undermine him. “You were going to kill my son’s dragon?” he demanded of Spitelout. The man was holding a sharp knife, and the Fury’s throat was exposed, but Stoick was trying not to jump to conclusions. 

“Of course I wasn’t” Spitelout insisted, “I was gonna castrate the beast, to make sure this won’t happen again. It’s the only way, Stoick, and you know it.” 

Hiccup was horrified. Castration - it wasn’t as bad as sacrificing Toothless, but the thought of them violating and mutilating his other half like that…His horror only grew when Stoick’s eyes slid from Spitelout, to him, to Toothless, and back to Spitelout…and gave a nod. He was _letting_ it happen. “No! No, you can’t!” 

Deaf to his pleas, Spitelout moved towards Toothless with knife in hand… “ _Hookfang!_ ” Snotlout yelled as the Fire-Scale shook his head back and forth. His rider was thrown off and crashed into Spitelout. Hookfang charged at Sven, who pushed Hiccup aside and went flying as Hookfang’s tail swept across and knocked him, Starkard and the other Vikings clean off Toothless in one blow.

Hiccup scrambled over to his other half and sawed through the ropes as quickly as he could. *Hookfang, thank you* Toothless said gratefully, as the Fire-Scale placed himself between them and the Vikings, body aflame. 

“Get outta the way, you overgrown flaming lizard!” 

“Hooky, calm down! Dad, don’t hurt my dragon!” 

“Get him under control!”

“I’m trying!” 

“They’re going to escape! We have to” –

“That’s enough, Spitelout! Hiccup and Toothless are my responsibility; _I’ll_ decide how to punish them!”

That was the final straw. His dad… _the chief_ wanted to punish him and Toothless for the crime of loving each other. The ropes fell away; Toothless rolled to his feet and barked *Get on!* Hiccup didn’t hesitate. He engaged the tail-fin and Toothless launched into the air, flying away from Berk as fast as his wings would carry him. Hiccup ignored the sound of Stoick shouting his name as they fled.

Neither of them looked back once.  


	2. Exile Part Two

Toothless had no idea where he was going, only that he couldn’t go back. _They_ could not go back. With Hiccup astride his shoulders, the Night Fury raced north, putting as much distance between them and Berk as possible. He climbed up to the clouds for cover, hoping to lose anyone who might be following them. 

His heart was thumping so quickly in his chest. Toothless had honestly feared they were about to slay him, and Hiccup, in cold blood. Laced with his own, he could feel Hiccup’s fear…but gradually, it bled away and turned to anger. 

“Aargh!” Hiccup screamed out into the open sky, fists clenched in his hair. It felt as if there was a fire inside, burning him, and he had to breathe it out. “It’s not fair! Stupid Snotlout! Stupid Spitelout! Stupid Stoick! They _betrayed_ us!” 

Words could not describe how furious he felt. “They were gonna hurt you!” he ranted, scowling. “He was gonna cut off your…that bastard, I wanna castrate him and see how _he_ likes it! And Snotlout, of all the selfish muttonhead things to – he just rats me out to his dad, like he doesn’t know how toxic Spitelout is. 

“It’s not fair. They attacked us, they _ambushed_ us! We’d done nothing wrong and they treated us like criminals, didn’t even try to talk to me about it, or let me explain. Not that I should have to, it’s none of their Thor-damned business what I do or who I do it with, and if Snotlout had just minded _his_ own business then this wouldn’t have…Toothless, what are you doing?” he asked suddenly. 

The dragon had diverted their course towards the sea stacks during Hiccup’s rant, and was now descending towards the rocks. Hiccup had adjusted the tail-fin without even realising it. Toothless glanced back at him and explained, *I’m going to land so I can hug you properly and calm you down.* 

“I am calm” Hiccup grumbled…but admittedly, he could use a hug right now. Toothless alighted on one of the sea stacks and waited for Hiccup to dismount, before sitting back on his haunches and holding his forepaws out. Hiccup smiled in spite of himself and rested his head against Toothless’ broad chest. The dragon’s heartbeat thudded under his ear, steady and reassuring. 

Toothless curled his forepaws over Hiccup’s shoulders and nuzzled the top of his head. *It’s alright, Hiccup. We’re gonna be okay, I promise. I’ll protect you.* 

Hiccup smiled softly and nuzzled his chest. “I know you will. I’ll protect you, too. I won’t let them hurt you” he said firmly, that fire in his chest stoked once more. 

With his mate’s wings wrapped around him, Hiccup felt safe. He always felt safe with Toothless, no matter how much danger they were in. “I can’t believe…Spitelout I can understand, he’s always been like this. Attack first and ask questions later; must be where Snotlout gets it from. But my dad! He chose them over me, like he always does. He was gonna punish us, for no reason.” 

For all he was trying to stubbornly hold onto his anger, being hugged by Toothless made it melt away. Hiccup slumped against the dragon’s chest, tracing circles over his smooth warm hide. “It’s not _fair_ ” he repeated, sniffling. 

Toothless crooned to him, but kept looking out to sea, back towards Berk. He spotted a dragon approaching on the horizon, and strained his eyes to see who it was. *Hookfang is coming* he warned Hiccup, who stiffened in his embrace. 

“What? No, no we can’t – Toothless, come on, we have to go!” he insisted, trying to get back in the saddle. His other half held him close and warbled reassuringly. *Relax, love. He’s alone, and he helped us, remember? Let’s just hear what they have to say* Toothless said reasonably. Hiccup relented. 

By the time Hookfang had landed on the sea stack, Hiccup was in the saddle and Toothless had retreated to the other side of the rock formation, so he wouldn’t have to turn his back on anyone sneaking up on them. It hurt that they had to worry about that. “What do you want, Snotlout?” Hiccup asked defensively. 

He wasn’t expecting the first words out of Snotlout’s mouth to be “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t think my dad would go that far. I wasn’t expecting him to try and…y’know, give Toothless the snip.” He grimaced in sympathy at the thought. “It’s just that he told me to tell him if I saw any rassragrs doing…stuff.” 

Hiccup frowned. “So he asked you to tell him about people’s private lives, so he could treat them like criminals when they did nothing wrong. Why am I not surprised?” he asked, voice dripping with sarcastic contempt. This was low, even by Spitelout Jorgenson’s standards. Or perhaps this was normal for him. 

“Being a rassragr is wrong” Snotlout insisted, but it sounded more like he was repeating something by rote. “And what you were doing, it’s, it’s _unnatural._ ” 

Hiccup barked a laugh, but there was no humour in it. “Snotlout, a lot of things are ‘unnatural’. It doesn’t mean they’re bad. Humans riding dragons is ‘unnatural’. Are you saying that you riding Hookfang is wrong?” 

“Of course not! It’s just…ugh, don’t confuse me!” 

“Snotlout, did you really follow us out here just to say you’re sorry?” 

“Yes. No. I, uh…your dad asked me to bring you back” Snotlout admitted. 

“Why? So he can punish me? So he can let them castrate Toothless? Not happening. We just left. We’re not going back now” Hiccup insisted. 

“So when _are_ you coming back?” asked Snotlout, “Tonight? Tomorrow?” 

Hiccup pretended to take a moment to think. “Let’s see…I exiled myself, so that’s lesser outlawry, so…three years. You guys can manage without us for three years, right?” he asked innocently. Toothless could tell he was lying.

Snotlout gaped at him. “Are you kidding me?! We won’t last three days without you!” he protested. “You can’t just leave! What about your dad? And Astrid?” 

That nearly made Hiccup flinch. He made a decision and said firmly, “Three weeks, then. Tell my…tell Stoick he has three weeks to make sure it’s safe for Toothless and I to come back….or we won’t.” He nudged Toothless with his heel. Hiccup wanted to leave, and put as much distance between them and Berk as possible. He already had a temporary stopping place in mind to go to.

As the Fury made to fly off, Snotlout cried out “Wait! Where are you gonna go?” 

“I’m not telling you that. It’s not like you couldn’t find us if you needed to.” 

“But you – I mean, why were…what’s going…you weren’t really doing _that,_ with Toothless, were you?”

Hiccup sighed. He didn’t have time to explain it, but there was no point in lying, so… “Ask Gobber” he advised, before he and Toothless turned and flew away.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on Berk, Stoick had gathered the council, as well as all the men who had gone to confront Hiccup and Toothless, in the Great Hall. Voices were raised all around him, but the Chief could only sit there and wonder where he had gone wrong with Hiccup. The words echoed in his head like cawing crows. _Bestial acts with the dragon._ His son had been _having sex with Toothless._

“It’s disgusting!” cried Hoark. “I’ve never heard of anything so repulsive!” 

“How long do you think they’ve been doing it?” wondered Ack, “I mean, him and the Night Fury have _always_ been a bit too cuddly with each other, if you ask me…” 

“It’s an outrage! That son of yours and his dragon have angered the gods, Stoick. They’re the reason we’ve been having all these terrible storms!” 

“Dogsbreath, it’s the middle o’ winter” Gobber retorted, exasperated, “there’s _always_ storms this time o’ year. You can’t blame ‘em all on those two.”

Sven, who felt bad for going along with Spitelout’s plan in the first place, mildly suggested, “The boy had a point, you know. He and Toothless have done a lot for this village. Maybe we oughta do as he asked and just let them be.” 

“You would say that” sneered Starkard, “it’s no surprise _you’d_ be on their side, given how obsessed you are with _sheep_ ” – All of Sven’s reasonableness vanished at the implied slight, and he turned red with indignant rage. Both men raised weapons – a mace and an axe respectively – and were about to come to blows, when Stoick slammed his hammer onto the table with a resounding _thud._

“ENOUGH!” the Chief shouted, eyebrows a storm. When silence had fallen, he dropped back into his throne and dragged a hand down his face. “Of all the reckless, _asinine_ …what was he thinking? He could be hurt, or get sick!” 

Spitelout gave a contemptuous scoff. “ _That’s_ what you’re worried about, Stoick? The boy has defiled Berk, and brought shame upon your family name…moreso than usual, anyway…you really should get your priorities straight, Chief” he declared. Stoick glared at him. “So how _are_ you going to punish him? Or are you going to let him off scot-free, like always?” 

Stoick didn’t rise to the bait. He was well aware of Spitelout’s objections to his parenting methods. Gobber responded in his stead, “I don’t think we need to worry about that, Spitelout. You’ve probably scared the poor things away from Berk for good, threatening to cut off Toothless’ ‘little dragon head’ like that. Heck, _I’d_ run away from home if I thought someone was gonna cut off mine.” 

Not that Stoick disagreed, but the conversation was getting off topic. “Hiccup hasn’t run away from home” he insisted, trying to convince himself more than them. “He was just…upset. Not thinking straight. He’ll fly with Toothless for a while and they’ll probably be back home by sundown. If not, I’ll look for them.”

“And then what?” Spitelout demanded. “We still need to castrate the dragon. It’s the only way to ensure they can’t do anything so vile ever again.” 

There was a pause, and then Bucket – of course it was Bucket – remarked dimly, “I can’t believe Hiccup’s been doing it with his dragon. I mean, you’d think it’d be too _big_.” His face screwed up, as if he was trying to figure out how big Toothless’ member would be, and if it could even fit… “Or is Toothless a girl?” 

Stoick wondered when this had become his life. Sven piped up again, saying “What I wanna know is, what about that ‘heart bind’ he mentioned? Hiccup was screaming about how if Toothless died, he’d die. Do you have any idea what all that was about, Chief?” he asked, genuinely curious. 

The chief sighed heavily. Deep down he knew this wasn’t his secret to tell, but Hiccup had left him enough of a mess to straighten out as it was. “It started when they went to Myrkr. Hiccup said these dragon hunters caught them, and the leader stabbed him. Toothless did something, heart bound to him to save his life, but now they’re…connected. Whatever one feels, so does the other.” 

Spitelout’s face cleared, and he sat back in his chair with a smug expression. “Well, that clears everything up, doesn’t it?” 

“What is that supposed to mean?” demanded Stoick. 

“Well, it’s obvious what the problem is. This ‘heart bind’ thing has clearly addled your son’s brain, made him see his dragon in a _different light.._.for all we know, the Night Fury did this on purpose to make him more, ahem, pliable.” 

Stoick frowned deeply. “He did it to save Hiccup’s life. Even if all this is some kind of side effect, I highly doubt that _that_ was Toothless’ intention.” 

“Well, even so, it’s clear what the solution is. If we find a way to undo this ‘heart bind’, then Hiccup will come back to his senses. He’ll probably be grateful to us” Spitelout said confidently. There were murmurs of agreement all round. After all, Hiccup had not tried to ‘engage in bestial acts’ before now, as far as they knew. The only different thing was the heart bind, so it had to be undone. 

“Well, you’re outta luck” Gobber declared, “Hiccup said the heart bind is permanent. It can’t be ‘undone’. And even if it could, only the dragons’d know how ta do it” he pointed out. 

Mulch inquired, “How does Hiccup know that it’s permanent?” 

“Because Toothless told him” replied Stoick. “Apparently the dragons talk like us, but with their minds, and now Hiccup can understand ‘em. Oh, and they can understand us, they just don’t always bother to listen.” 

“You mean Hiccup is a…a dragon seithmathr?” Bucket asked fearfully (1). 

“Of course not! If you ask me, you’re all getting your skivvies in knots for no good reason” Gobber insisted, “There ain’t nothin’ wrong with Hiccup, he’s just different. He’s _always_ been different. And he’s gone, so what’s the problem?” He was only saying that; in truth, Gobber was very worried about the lad. 

It was then that Stoick realised… “You don’t seem too surprised. Gobber, did you know about this?” he asked suspiciously. 

The old blacksmith’s expression was that of a man who knew he’d just stepped into some very hot water. Or maybe molten iron. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Stoick” he denied immediately.

“Then how d’you explain this jar of oil we found in that cave?” Spitelout challenged, pulling it out from under the table. 

“I’ve never seen that before in my life” Gobber insisted. Spitelout merely turned the jar to reveal that the words ‘GOBBER’S - KEEP OFF’ were etched into the clay of the underside. “Ah. Damn.” 

Stoick glared at him. “Gobber…” 

“I won’t talk and you can’t make me! I swore an oath of secrecy, and I never break an oath. Unless it’s to do with washing. Besides, I don’t wanna be struck by lightning” Gobber declared. Stoick did not look impressed by this excuse. 

“Oath or not, if you know anything about this insanity of Hiccup’s, you have to tell us” the Chief insisted. “We need to put an end to it, for his own good.” 

Before Gobber could say anything – to relent, refuse, whatever – the doors to the Great Hall opened, and Snotlout came running in. “This is a private council meeting, you can’t just barge in and” – Stoick began to protest. 

“Sorry chief, but I saw Hiccup and he” – 

“You did? Where is he? Is he alright?” Stoick asked urgently. 

“Why didn’t you bring him back?” demanded Spitelout. 

Snotlout explained, “He’s fine, but he seemed pretty angry. He gave me a message for you” he said to Stoick. “Hiccup said you have three weeks to make it safe for him and Toothless to come back…or they won’t. Come back, I mean.” 

Stoick felt his blood run cold. The last time Hiccup and Toothless had left Berk alone, his son had nearly… “Do you have any idea where they went?” 

“N-no, Chief…um, actually, they were heading north, so they might be going to Dragon’s Edge. And uh, I asked Hiccup if he and Toothless had really been…y’know…” Snotlout turned red, “He um, he said to ask Gobber.” 

Once more, all eyes turned to the blacksmith. “Ah, well, if he’s giving me permission…” Gobber took a swig from the tankard attached to his stump and explained what he knew. “It was a couple of months ago…Hiccup came to me in th’ forge, asked to talk in private, and told me he’d gotten a crush on his dragon. Real agitated he was, too. Said he was sorry, called himself a freak.” 

“Which he is” Spitelout sneered. 

“Oi! I wasn’t finished” Gobber snapped. “I did ask him if it was that heart bind of theirs…he said a week before, they’d been ‘exploring each other’. Talked about how Toothless had been real gentle and sweet on him, and the way the dragon looked at him…then he trailed off with this dopey, lovestruck look on his face. It was kind of cute, really. So then I asked if Toothless knew about it, and he said Toothless didn’t feel the same way, but I told him he oughta tell anyway, just to get it off his chest. I guess he was wrong about Toothless not feeling the same.” 

Stoick could hardly believe what he was hearing. “And you gave Hiccup this oil?” he demanded, incredulous. “You _encouraged_ him?!” 

Gobber gave his old friend a flat stare. “Stoick, you and I both know that once Hiccup’s got his mind set on summat, there ain’t nothing in the world that can shift him. He’s every bit the boar-headed Viking you ever were, and then some. I figured if he was gonna try it anyway, he should at least be prepared.” 

“You should have told me. I’m his father! I could have talked sense into him!” 

“ _Exactly,_ Stoick. You are his father. Nothing’s changed! He’s still your son. He’s still Hiccup, the one who stopped the Red Death, Alvin, Dagur, all those dragon hunters…and you lot are talking about him like he’s a madman, or a criminal” Gobber accused them, “But being a rassragr isn’t a crime, and nowhere in our laws does it say ‘You must not, under any circumstance, try to boff a dragon’.” 

“There shouldn’t _need_ to be a law against it, Gobber!” Stoick cried, exasperated. “It should just be common sense! Oh, I cannot _believe_ this…” 

There was a long and awkward silence. Finally, Mulch asked “Now what, Chief?” 

Stoick rubbed his temple. “That boy is going to be the death of me. I’ll give him one more day to come to his senses. If he’s not back by tomorrow, I’m going to find him and bring him home. In the meantime, we speak of this to no-one. Nobody on Berk can ever know what my son has been doing with his dragon.” 

By the next day, of course, everyone knew. (2)

* * *

It was a long flight out to Dragon’s Edge; made longer still by the storm they encountered on the way. They took shelter on Dark Deep; the Quakens weren’t exactly thrilled to see them, but Toothless declared *No threat. We just need to wait out the storm*, and the massive dragons allowed them to remain.

Huddled under Toothless’ wing in a small cave, Hiccup finally had a chance to catch up on that nap he’d wanted. He couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t just the howling wind and hail that kept him awake; it was what had almost happened. He wondered if Snotlout had delivered his message to…to the Chief. He couldn’t call him ‘dad’. Hiccup wouldn’t be surprised if Stoick had disowned him. 

The thought made his heart hurt. _Who cares?_ Hiccup tried to tell himself. _I don’t need him. Or any of them. I’ve got Toothless._ He nestled closer to the dragon’s warm bulk. _He chose them over me._ Stoick had made it clear whose side he was on. It was never going to be Hiccup’s. His dad must be so disappointed in him… _I don’t care! I did nothing wrong. I trusted him and he betrayed me. They all did._

Eventually, Hiccup did fall asleep. When Toothless woke him, he was stiff and sore. They flew on towards the Edge, which was completely deserted. The gang had really stripped the place bare when they all left; there was no food, not even a blanket in their old hut. The two of them caught some fish and Hiccup roasted his in the fire pit in the clubhouse, whilst Toothless devoured the rest. 

There was a croak at the doorway, and a small white dragon waddled inside. *Leader? You’re here, why?* the Night Terror flock’s Alpha asked curiously. 

“Hey, Smidvarg!” Hiccup exclaimed, grinning. “Good to see ya!”

The Terror chirped happily, sniffed at Hiccup’s outstretched palm and pressed his snout against it. *Hello, Makes Things. Welcome back.* 

*I told you, his name is Hiccup* Toothless snorted impatiently. *We need to stay here for a while. We were…we had to leave our home* he sighed. 

Smidvarg crooned sympathetically. “…That’s not your name, is it?” Hiccup realised. “Sorry. I should have – well, I guess I couldn’t ask before now, but…uh, we’re heart bound” he explained, when the Terror squawked curiously at him. “Me and Toothless, I mean. I can understand you now. So, um, my name’s Hiccup. It’s nice to meet you. Properly…uh, what’s your name?” he asked. 

The little dragon tilted his head to one side. *Name is Smidvarg. Makes Things heart bound to Leader how? Impossible, Makes Things is human!* 

*Yes, _Hiccup_ is a human* Toothless retorted, with an exasperated growl, *and we are heart bound, impossible or not. We’re also mates. Deal with it.* 

“ _Toothless_. Come on, bud, don’t be rude” Hiccup scolded. He turned back to Smidvarg and explained, “What I mean is, what’s your _real_ name? The name you were born…I mean, hatched with. Smidvarg is…it’s the name my friend Tuffnut gave you. But now I know dragons have their own names for themselves.” 

By now, a few more Night Terrors had come to investigate them. The dragons were usually nocturnal, but all the sounds and smells coming from the clubhouse had woken them up. Toothless noticed one of them trying to sneak up on his fish and growled in warning. *Don’t even think about it, thief!* 

“Hey!” Hiccup snapped, “Leave them alone. They’re smaller than you, and there’s plenty of fish to go around, mister greedy. You’ve gotta learn to share.” 

Toothless hooded his eyes. *Hiccup, I’m a _dragon._ I know how to share, I just don’t want to.* He proceeded to gulp down another mouthful, purring smugly at the Terrors as he chewed. Hiccup frowned in disapproval and snatched a handful of fish, tossing them to the hungry little dragons. “There you go. Now, where were we?” he smiled at Smidvarg, ignoring Toothless’ indignant grunt.

*Alpha, why are Makes Things and Leader here alone?* one of the Terrors asked. 

*Makes Things and Leader are heart bound. Why here alone?* Smidvarg chirped at Hiccup, wagging his tail. *Where pack-mates? Human and dragon friends?* 

Hiccup sighed. “They, uh, they’re not here. I know this is gonna sound crazy, and maybe kind of gross, but Toothless – I mean, Leader and I have been, uh…mating” he confessed, blushing. The Terrors just stared at him. “Some of the humans on our island found out, and they didn’t like it, so…so we had to run away. We just need to stay here until it’s safe for us both to go back.”

The Terrors were sympathetic; as a highly social species, the thought of having to leave their home and their flock was horrible. Smidvarg – he never offered his original name, so Hiccup decided to just keep calling him that – even offered to help keep an eye out for anyone coming to the island. “That would be great. Thanks, Smidvarg. You’re the best” Hiccup smiled gratefully at the little guy. 

When the Terrors had left, Hiccup inquired, “So…Leader? Makes Things?” 

Toothless huffed. *They call us different names. We told them our chosen names but they don’t use them. They named us after what we did here.*  

“Guess that explains my nickname” Hiccup chuckled, thinking of all the gadgets he’d designed and built at the Edge. _Inferno_ , his flight suit, the other Dragon Eye… “So what do they call the others, then?” he asked curiously. 

*I think…Astrid is ‘Fighter’, and Stormfly is ‘Helper’. Snotlout is ‘Sneaking’ and Hookfang is ‘Flies Off’. Fishlegs is… ‘Knows Stuff’ and Meatlug is ‘Dozing’. Tuffnut is ‘Loves Bird’, Ruffnut is ‘Talks Lots’, B&B is…I can’t remember.* (3)

All the nicknames were quite fitting, Hiccup thought. “Huh…Makes Things. I like it; it suits me. I don’t mind if they wanna call me that” he decided. “So…d’you wanna go for a fly? Check everything’s okay round here?” Hiccup suggested. 

Toothless was agreeable; so they went on a quick recon flight, which soon devolved into soaring for the fun of it. In truth the black dragon was trying to cheer his human up, and it worked! For a little while, anyway. The two of them returned to their hut, barren as it was, and as soon as Hiccup dismounted he turned and grabbed Toothless’ head, pulling him into a slow kiss. 

That was the intention, at least, but Toothless pulled away. “What’s wrong, bud?” Hiccup asked, moving to scratch at the dragons’ shoulders. “C’mon, let’s get this saddle off, then you and I can have some _real_ fun” he remarked, giving his mate a sexy smirk. “You _did_ say we could have another round later…” 

*Hiccup, no* Toothless said firmly, putting distance between them. *I’m not in the mood* he insisted. Hiccup turned pink, and tried to stammer out an apology. *You’re not in the mood either. Not really. I can tell. You’re upset.* 

The young man frowned. “…I think I have good reason to be” he said at last. 

*I know* Toothless crooned, *but don’t you want to talk about it?* 

“…What is there to talk about? They betrayed us, and we left. End of story.” 

*Who betrayed us?* 

“You know – them! Snotlout, his dad, _my_ dad, all of them!” 

*Not all of them. Not all of our friends betrayed us. I don’t think Snotlout meant to betray us…he’s just dumb.* 

“No arguments here. Okay, fine, maybe not everyone betrayed us, but _they_ still – they were gonna hurt you! They wanted to castrate you, d’you even know what that means?! He was gonna cut off your dick!” Hiccup shouted, hysterical. 

Toothless just sat there and stared at him. *What’s wrong? It isn’t like you to be so…angry. It’s like you _want_ to be mad at them. To keep hurting inside.*   

Hiccup’s mouth opened and closed a few times. “I, I’m not…I don’t…” 

*You were happy when we flew together. That always cheers you up; but now you’re angry again. You’ve been angry since we left Berk, and upset too.*

“Well can you blame me? Everything’s messed up! My own – some of my own people ambushed us, my dad sided with them and wants to punish us; I shouldn’t even be calling him ‘dad’, he’s probably disowned me by now. We had to leave our home with nothing, and there’s nothing here…don’t you get it? We’ve lost everything, because that lot couldn’t just mind their own business!” 

Hiccup panted after his little rant. Toothless just sat there mildly. *Not everything* he warbled at last, *we still have each other, don’t we?* 

His other half sighed. “Yeah. I’m sorry, bud. I’m not angry with you, I just…I feel so mad when I think about what they almost did to you. I – I hated them.” Hiccup’s brow furrowed, as if he’d only just realised this. “You’re right…this _isn’t_ like me. I don’t…I don’t know why I’m so angry. Not angry – _resentful_. It…it’s like there’s this thought in the back of my mind, that I _have_ to be mad, I have to…” 

*Protect me?* Toothless guessed, eyes widening. *Like…like an instinct?* 

“Yeah…” Hiccup finally remembered, Misty-Onyx had told them, heart bound pairs had a very strong instinct to protect each other. Was that why he felt so angry? The heart bind, making him want to keep Toothless safe at all costs? “I…I am mad at them. I can’t help it; even if we weren’t heart bound, if they tried to do that to you, I’d still be furious. But maybe…the instinct isn’t helping things.” 

Toothless crooned and sat back on his haunches, holding his forepaws out. Hiccup chuckled softly and moved to hug him, melting into his chest. “I love you so much” he murmured, resting his head against his other half’s warm heart.

*Love you too* the dragon chirped, snuffling his nose in Hiccup’s hair. 

“…Nothing’s changed, though, has it? We can’t go back to Berk. Not now.” 

*Maybe. If Snotlout tells your sire what you said. If Stoick makes it safe.* 

“I doubt that. He’s probably disowned and banished me by now.” 

Toothless whined. *Your sire wouldn’t do that. He loves you, Hiccup.* 

“He was gonna let them hurt you” Hiccup protested, pressing closer. 

*I know, but I could smell his fear. Maybe he panicked. He’s only human.*

“He didn’t have to do that, though. He could have said no, he could have made them leave us alone. He’s the Chief! Oh, who am I kidding?” Hiccup moaned, “That’s the problem. It’s always chiefing first, being my dad second. I know he loves me, I just…I wish he could _accept_ me. No matter what…the way you have.” 

*It’s alright, love* Toothless warbled, nuzzling him. *It’s going to be alright.*

* * *

The next day, the pair were alerted by the Night Terrors (or Black-Scales, as they called themselves), that three dragon riders were coming. Hiccup and Toothless stayed hidden whilst Skull Crusher, Stormfly and Grump landed on the platform outside the stables. Stoick dismounted, strode forwards a few steps and cupped his hands around his mouth. “HICCUP!” he bellowed. “I know you’re here!”

He turned to Astrid and Gobber. “We’ll split up and find them. Astrid, you check his old hut. Gobber, you look in the clubhouse. Skull and I will search the rest of the island” Stoick declared firmly. Hiccup briefly considered getting Toothless to sneak away, but he’d rather they leave sooner than later. So he signalled to the dragon, and Toothless prowled out from behind the side of the stables.

“Hiccup!” exclaimed Stoick; he actually sounded relieved. “There you are. You’re coming home, right now” the chief declared firmly, beckoning to his son. 

The young man raised an eyebrow. “Is it safe? Cos I told Snotlout we wouldn’t come back until it was safe” he insisted, “and by ‘safe’, I mean no castrations.” 

“They’re not gonna castrate your dragon” Stoick replied impatiently. “Just come back to Berk, stop all this foolishness and we’ll put this whole mess behind us.”

Hiccup pretended to consider it. “Hm…y’know, Toothless and I don’t really feel like going back to Berk yet. I mean, we only just got here. Maybe we’ll stick around for a bit, have a holiday; whaddya say, bud?” he asked Toothless, who warbled. “He says ‘yes, that would be fun’. So, it was nice seeing you guys…” 

Astrid glared at him. “You can’t stay out here. What are you gonna eat? Or sleep on? We took everything back to Berk with us when we left” she protested. 

“…The market is just a few hours ride away. I’ll just trade for stuff” he shrugged. 

Gobber scoffed. “Bah! You don’t wanna go all the way to that dump, Hiccup. I brought you some supplies” he announced, dragging some packed saddlebags off of Grump. “I dunno how long the food’ll last, though. Maybe a week or so.”

Hiccup smiled gratefully at his old mentor. “Thanks, Gobber, that means a lot.” 

Stoick scowled. “Gobber! I told you, we shouldn’t encourage him!” 

“Why not?” Hiccup demanded, glaring at his father. “At least Gobber is on our side, which is more than I can say for you. When he found out I was in love with Toothless, Gobber didn’t judge me. _You_ sided with Spitelout, of all people.” 

“I didn’t _side_ with anyone! Hiccup, you have no idea what a difficult position you put me in. As the chief, it’s my responsibility to keep order on Berk, and I” – 

“And you thought the best way to do that was to let Spitelout cut off Toothless’ member? When you _knew_ it would hurt me too?” Hiccup demanded incredulously. “You _always_ do this! You can never just stick up for me – that would ruin your ‘Stern Viking Chief’ image, wouldn’t it? We wouldn’t want anyone thinking that the great Stoick the Vast actually _cares_ about his son!” 

Stoick gaped at him. Gobber winced. Astrid glowered. “Of course he cares about you, Hiccup” she insisted, “no matter how much of a muttonhead you can be. None of this would have happened if you’d just had the sense to stop having sex with Toothless. Now the whole flipping island knows about you two. And what’s worse is they think I’m involved! Thanks to you, I’m a laughing stock!” 

Hiccup flinched a bit. He hadn’t meant for that to happen…but that still didn’t mean he was in the wrong! “It’s not like you can’t set them straight. Who’s going to argue with Astrid Hofferson? Just brandish your axe at them and call it a day” he said recklessly. Beneath him, he felt Toothless rumble warningly. 

Stoick was getting exasperated. “If you’re going to act like a child then I’m going to treat you like one” he told Hiccup. “You are coming back to Berk and you are _not_ going to mate with Toothless ever again, and that is final! You understand, dragon? No more of _this_ ”, he gestured to both of them, “for your own good.” 

It would be so easy to give in…but damnit, he didn’t want to. He shouldn’t have to. “No” Hiccup refused. “If we go back, it’ll be on _our_ terms, not yours. We did nothing wrong, and you were gonna punish us, for loving each other!” 

“For Thor’s sake, Hiccup, I only said that to shut Spitelout up! I didn’t _mean_ it!” Stoick exclaimed, at his wit’s end. “You are being completely irresponsible” – 

“If being responsible means being _miserable_ , then I’d rather not, thanks very much” Hiccup shot back. “I said it before and I’ll say it again; just because what we’re doing is ‘unnatural’, doesn’t mean it’s wrong! Toothless loves me, for _me,_ and I love him! I shouldn’t have to justify how or why, not to you, and certainly not to _Spitelout_ and the rest of them. It’s none of your business where I stick my”- 

“Hiccup!” 

The young man glared at his father. “I’m sorry I let you down. Both of you” he added, glancing at Astrid. “But I love Toothless, and I won’t apologise for that. I shouldn’t have to. You’re asking me to give up something that makes me happy, just so you and everyone else can feel better, and that…that isn’t fair.” 

“No, it isn’t fair” Astrid agreed, but not with him. “ _Life_ isn’t fair, and you can’t always get your own way. Hiccup, you had everything back on Berk! The respect of your tribe, a loving home, _me._ Are you really gonna throw all that away?” she asked incredulously, “just so you can keep being fucked by your dragon?” 

Hiccup set his jaw, looked her right in the eyes and answered, “I’d give all that up to protect my other half.” 

Astrid stared at him in disbelief for a moment…then her eyes narrowed spitefully. “Fine. Have it your way. Have fun with your new boyfriend, Toothless” she told the Night Fury, who flinched. “Because we are _through._ ” Without another word, she turned and swung herself up into Stormfly’s saddle. The Nadder paused long enough to say, *Sorry Hiccup*, before taking off.

Reeling a bit, more stung by the break-up than he let on, Hiccup glared defensively at Stoick. “Now what? Are you gonna disown me? You might as well, seeing as I’ll never be the son you want anyway.” 

Stoick said nothing. He simply gave Hiccup one more disapproving frown, before heading over to Skull Crusher and getting in the saddle. *You’re both fools* the old Rumblehorn grunted, before he carried Stoick away. Hiccup’s chest hurt. 

Gobber tried to reason with his former apprentice. “Look, lad, I know you’re upset; but don’t be so hard on him. He just wants what’s best for you.” When Hiccup said nothing, the blacksmith sighed. “Just be careful out here, you two” he advised, before going back to Grump, who jerked awake from his nap.

Once even Gobber had left, Hiccup’s shoulders slumped. He felt tears prick his eyes. He’d been dumped and disowned all in the same day. _Way to go, me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Practitioner of seithr magic, a form of women’s magic involving ritual sex.
> 
> (2) This is basically a Gilligan Cut – where in the first scene, a character insists that X won’t/can’t happen, and in the very next scene – it’s happened.
> 
> (3) I couldn’t think of a nickname for them, suggestions are welcome.


End file.
